New Book Offers Practical Inspiration From a Successful American Immigrant
Dr. Cynthia Barnett’s life has been a series of never-give-up decisions. When obstacles arose, she always found innovative ways to pursue her dreams. Even when her retirement came around, she put a new spin on it by changing the word to refraction and finding new ways to feel fulfilled. Now, in I’m Not Done Yet, she shares a series of personal stories chosen specifically to inspire others to never give up on their dreams when faced with adversity.
Today, Cynthia is an American success story. One of the first stories she tells in this book is about how she grew up on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent with her grandmother and her siblings. Her father had left the family long before and her mother had come to the United States to try to create a better life for her children and to send them money when she could. However, her mother did not always have it easy and as a result, one year she was unable to send money home for her daughters to buy new school uniforms. Cynthia, as her eldest, was worried about this situation and feared that her classmates would make fun of her if she and her sisters went back to school in her old uniforms. She then she had a brilliant idea. I’ll let you read for yourself what she did to resolve the situation, but more importantly what she learned from this situation:
“Looking back, I see that this event marked the awakening of an inner resilience to life’s difficulties. I began to develop problem-solving skills and my attitude changed from accepting difficult circumstances as inevitable to looking at them as puzzles to be solved. resolved with creativity. I also made an internal commitment to never give up in the face of a challenge. These skills and decisions would prove to be absolutely essential in facing other obstacles in my life. I knew I would always remember the story of the Blue Uniforms, and I would wait.”
Eventually, Cynthia followed her mother to the United States, but the doors of opportunity did not open for her. She applied to several universities, but was repeatedly rejected. Eventually, through hard work and a chain of events, she managed to get into a university, more or less through the back door, but she did get in. Who would have imagined that this young immigrant who was rejected by several universities would become an educator, a high school assistant principal and earn a doctorate?
As I’m Not Done Yet progresses, Cynthia continues to tell her stories of how she managed to overcome her darkest moments. These stories include overcoming fears, overcoming a difficult divorce, fighting racism in the workplace, and empty nesting. One of my favorite stories of hers describes how she harnessed her love of traveling and her love of educating people by becoming a teacher on cruise ships so she could travel for free.
But I’m Not Done Yet is more than just stories about a successful woman. The book’s message is that just as Cynthia isn’t done yet, neither should you. She reminds us that as children we all had dreams, maybe to be a dancer, a singer, a doctor, or even the president of the United States. Most of our dreams are not yet beyond us. Cynthia tells us: “I wrote this book to help you stretch your mind to imagine a life of new possibilities; if you put your mind to it, you can be, do and have anything you want”, and “If I can make my dreams come true , you can too. I believe in you. I believe that deep within you, you have the power to clarify and create what you want.”
Cynthia also reminds us not to settle for less than what we want. She was determined not to settle from an early age. Speaking of herself in the third person, she describes herself as a young woman in San Vicente:
“She wanted a career, no doubt; she didn’t just want a job. She’d had enough of that; she’d witnessed the dead end, the stagnant stare of friends and family who thought eight hours a day were handing out tickets for the tourists from Coming home to St. Vincent was the best life had to offer. No, this girl didn’t want just a means to earn money, maybe just enough to get by. She wanted to prosper, lose herself in a career she loved, and eventually see the world.”
Today, that girl helps other girls succeed. One thing Cynthia has done during her readmission is to establish the Amazing Girls Science program, which focuses on teaching girls STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). The success of the program led her to become one of the inaugural recipients of the American Association of Retired Persons’ Purpose Award in 2017.
I’m Not Done Yet also includes a “Now I Can See Clearly” section at the end of each chapter, which briefly outlines the lesson of each story, and “Thinking Questions” at the end of each chapter to help readers think about what they have learned and how they could apply it in the pursuit of their own dreams.
Topped off with a foreword by Gerry Robert, the best-selling author of The Millionaire Mindset, I’m Not Done Yet has everything you need to be inspired and renewed to pursue your own dreams. This is a book not to be missed.